Income Tax department has taken another major leap towards tax reforms by inducing technology into the appeal system. In a first of it’s kind decision, gap between the taxpayer and the taxman has been further reduced, as Aadhaar Card, Net Banking based e-filing verification has been launched by the IT Dept.

Such e-filing verification can be used to file an appeal before the tax officer; and the system is almost like online Income Tax Return filing.

Central Board of Direct Taxes said, “The new format for filing of appeals is more structured, objective, systematic and aligned with the current provisions of the Income Tax Act,”

What Has Changed?

Just like an OTP or One Time Password is generated for transacting online, IT Dept. will now issue an EVC or Electronic Verification Code against the Aadhaar Card of the taxpaper, which can be used to e-verify the taxpayer.

Such EVC would be valid for 72 hours.

As per a press notification issued by the IT Dept, “”One EVC can be used to validate one form of the assesse irrespective of the assessment year. The EVC will be stored against the assesse PAN along with other verification details. The EVC will be valid for 72 hours or as otherwise specified,”

Using this EVC, the paypayer can now file an appeal and in case the appeal is accepted, that the funds would be transferred into the net banking account.

Besides, Form 35, which is used to file an appeal, has also been re-formatted so that the e-filing can be done electronically.

This new Form 35, which can be uploaded on the official ITR website, (just like normal income tax returns) will have two sections to describe the appeal: 1000 words section would be to describe “Statement of Facts” while a 100 words section would be to describe the grounds on which the appeal is being made.

Note here, that only those taxpayers who are e-filing their returns are actually eligible for this new platform for appeals.

How Income Tax Appeal Works?

Income Tax Department has created a 4-layered system for appealing Income Tax charges by the Assessing Officer: In the first step, appeal is presented in-front of the Commissioner of IT (Appeals), and then, taxpayer can appeal to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), then the High Court and finally the Supreme Court.

This new system based on Aadhaar Card, Net Banking has been created for the first layer of appeal infront of the Commissioner of IT (Appeals)

With the introduction of this platform, IT Dept. has requested all taxpayers to

“update their profile and select higher security option to secure their e-filing account”

As per IT officials, this new system to file first order appeal will remove human interface in this process; reduce (almost remove) paperwork and also reduce the transaction cost associated with this procedure.

As all validations would be in-built, chances of errors is also less. As per IT Dept, this new system of filing appeal will reduce the “burden of compliance on the taxpayers in appellate proceedings will be significantly reduced.”

Mohul keenly observes the nuances of Indian startup world; and tries to demystify the secrets behind Technology, Marketing, Mobile and Internet. He is a Writer by passion, Marketer by choice and Entrepreneur by compulsion. Follow him on Twitter here: @_mohul